The present invention relates in general to locking mechanisms, and, in particular, to a new and useful locking mechanism for containers having bodies and lids with overlapping portions, or cabinets or drawers with overlapping parts, and especially for outside receptacles such as trash cans and recycled bins.
The present invention solves the problem of keeping animals out of household trash containers thus preventing the mess that often is the result of an animal getting into the garbage can and rummaging through the contents of the container. The present invention can also keep young children out of drawers or cabinets.
Others have attempted to incorporate locking mechanisms in the design of a trash receptacle, such as hinged handles that engage grooves or ridges in the cover to inhibit the removal of the lid, or straps that attempt to hold the lid in place, or even levers that clamp the cover onto the container while in the upright position. See, for example: U.S. Pat. No. 2,717,167 for a Container Cover fastener; U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,924 for a Releasable Tension holder for Removeable Receptacle Covers; U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,964 for Trash Can Protector; U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,656 for Trash Receptacle Having Lid Fastening Means; U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,851 for Container Cover Lock; U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,488 for Locking Device for Garbage Can Lid; U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,054 for Animal Proof Storage Container Apparatus; U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,144 for Garbage Can Lid Latch; U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,161 for Container Having Twist-Locking Cover; U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,598 for Lock for Trash Bins; U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,341 for Gravity Actuated Container Lock; U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,050 for Lid-Locking Device for Trash Containers; U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,093 for Device for Locking the Cover of a Container, and Container So Equipped; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,339,944 for Locking Mechanism for Trash Can Receptacle and Other Doors.
The problem with prior designs is that they fail to function if the can is knocked over, and the animal can then use one or more limbs to paw their way to xe2x80x9cunlockxe2x80x9d the securing mechanism. The present invention takes advantage of the fundamental difference between primate and non-primate animals. The fact that primates have an opposing digit makes it impossible for non-primates to release the xe2x80x9clockxe2x80x9d mechanism of the invention and then remove the lock to permit opening of the cover.
Various locking mechanisms are known and used in a variety of other fields as well. U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,011, for example, discloses a Push Button Panel Fastener, which utilizes captured balls that can be engaged against the recess of a pin for detachably connecting two parts to each other.
An object of the present invention is to provide a container lock which is easily and quickly engaged to lock the lid of a container in place, but which cannot be removed by the type of animals which would normally raid garbage pails, such as racoons and the like particularly, and generally cannot be removed by any non-primate nor by young children who have not yet developed adequate manual dexterity.
In accordance with the present invention, the lock has a part which must first be pushed and held, and then, while holding the lock, the lock is pulled to disengage it from the container, drawer or cabinet. This push-plus-pull action is impossible for a non-primate and small children to execute, yet provides for quick engagement and quick disengagement.
Another practical use of the invention, therefore, is to provide a safe and effective way to keep the cover on any container where it has or can be made to have overlapping components to be secured. An example is a plastic utility bin where the lid has a rim that overlaps the body of the container. The invention prevents the cover from being dislodged and the contents of the bin from spilling, without intentionally xe2x80x9cunlockingxe2x80x9d the mechanism and removing it from the container. Such boxes would be securely closed even if they were to fall from a shelf. Even containers that do not have overlapping parts could be secured if a small modification were made, or added to the container, such as two angles added in such a way that one leg of each angle overlaps and the lock of the invention is extended into aligned holes in the overlapping legs.
The invention could also be used to keep young children out of such containers since they may not yet possess the coordination to successfully release the mechanism. The mechanism could be used on cabinet doors to keep toddlers from getting into undesired areas of the homes as well. Other uses include the securing of cabinet doors and drawers on recreational vehicles like boats and mobile home. The term xe2x80x9creceptaclexe2x80x9d is used here to be generic for any container, cabinet, drawer receiving or the like, and the term xe2x80x9ccoverxe2x80x9d includes a container lid, a cabinet door, a drawer front or the like.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a locking arrangement for a receptacle having a cover, the receptacle and cover having overlapping parts, the locking arrangement comprising, a bolt for extending through aligned holes in the overlapping parts of the receptacle and cover, a handle at one end of the bolt for engagement for pulling the bolt out of the aligned holes in a withdrawing direction, the handle being outside the receptacle when the bolt extends through the aligned holes, expansion means at an opposite end of the bolt for expanding to an expanded geometry having at least one dimension which is greater than a dimension of the aligned holes to prevent withdrawing the bolt from the aligned holes, the expansion means having a contracted geometry which is at most equal to the dimension of the aligned holes for allowing withdrawing of the bolt from the aligned holes. A far or opposite end of the bolt extends inside the receptacle when the bolt extends through the aligned holes. The lock has an actuator mounted for linear movement to the bolt and engaged with the expansion means for moving the expansion means from the expanded geometry to the contracted geometry when the actuator is pushed in an unlocking direction which is different from the withdrawing direction, and biasing means engaged with the expansion means for biasing the expansion means toward the expanded geometry so that when the actuator is not being pushed in the unlocking direction, the expansion means is in the expanded geometry.
The present invention effectively prevents all non-primate animals and small children from being able to remove the cover from virtually any home-style, outdoor garbage can, or any other container where the cover or lid overlaps part of the body of the container, or can be made to overlap as described above. A garbage can is used for descriptive purposes. The can requires a small modification which is the perforation of the cover and the closing lip of the can where the two components overlap, by a pair of aligned holes. The typical home-style trash container has a cover that fits over and around the outside of the body of the container. A relatively small hole is drilled through the cover and container which can be simply accomplished using a standard household drill, or hand reamer. The invention will however, work, equally well should there be a container in which the cover fits inside the can.
The following description is based on the general trash can design where the cover fits on and over the can.
The aligned holes can be in any receptacle and cover whether it be a trash can, a recycle bin, a lock box, or any other container plus lid combination. As noted, the term xe2x80x9creceptaclexe2x80x9d is used in its broadest sense to include such enclosures as cabinets, drawers and other enclosure in furniture where the xe2x80x9ccoverxe2x80x9d corresponds to a door for the cabinet, a front of a drawer or other structure in furniture. The only requirement of the present invention is that parts of the xe2x80x9creceptaclexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ccoverxe2x80x9d overlap each other and have aligned holes for receiving what is generically referred to a bolt in the context of the present invention.
The expansion means may be bellows, a plurality of V-shaped members that expand or contract in the direction of the diameter of the bolt, a washer or multiple washers which expand or contract in the radial direction, a disk which is mounted in an offset position at the end of the cylindrical bolt and which can move into misalignment with the bolt for expanding the geometry of the bolt and thus preventing its withdrawal from the aligned holes, an elastic tube with expansion boss inside, a coil spring or a variety of other geometries both disclosed and undisclosed.
One expansion means of the present invention utilizes one or more ball bearings or spheres to expand the geometry of the bolt. When used in the environment of a trash can as the receptacle, the hole through the can, can be fitted with an escutcheon type keeper plate that has a hole which is slightly larger in diameter than the locking bolt. This is needed especially with certain embodiments the invention and with plastic trash containers. The locking bolt, also hollow, houses a mechanism that includes, at least one ball bearing, a spring, a cam rod. When at rest the spring holds the cam rod in the locked position which presses the ball bearing outwardly so that part of the bearing projects through a hole in the outer bolt. When at rest the bearing effectively increases the diameter of the locking bolt preventing it from passing through the keeper plate. A release button for the bolt can be recessed in the handle, shielded, or positioned, in such a way as to require the use of an opposing digit to activate the release and still withdraw the bolt by its handle through the keeper in the can.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.